This week on The Back 40, Mike Brine is joined by Mercedes Unwin, Program & Resource Manager for AgScape.  AgScape provides educational programs for students across Ontario in order to help improve their educational agriculture knowledge.  Mercedes’ joins us to discuss the various programs they have including their Teacher Ambassador Program, which provides interactive and engaging lessons to encourage students to think critically about the agricultural industry.   ...

This week, Dave and Doug Johnston join us to discuss their family operation Maplevue Farms and the family dynamics of working together.  They are farmers working on their fifth generation dairy farm just outside of Listowel, Ontario.  Over those years the farm has gone through many changes including most recently the addition of a robotic milker.  Doug and Dave have worked hard to keep their farm running and are looking to pass the torch soon the next generation.  Working with family is never easy, but on their family farm they make it work with a bit of laughter and everyone pitching in. ...

This week on The Back 40 we are joined by Crystal Mackay, Founder & CEO of Loft32.  Crystal’s passion for agriculture has lead her to an incredible career as a speaker and the former CEO for the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity and Farm & Food Care.  Most recently, she was named one of the seven most influential women in agriculture.  Crystal joins us to discuss why consumer trust in the food system is so important and how agriculture can work to improve consumer’s confidence in the agricultural industry. ...

On this week’s episode of The Back 40 we are joined by Dr. Helen Hambly from the University of Guelph and the Regional & Rural Broadband Project (R2B2).  Dr. Hambly grew up on a farm and has worked in agriculture for many years outside of Canada spending time in South Africa, Latin America and Asia.  Over the last year we have seen a major shift in the way we use the internet and many of us don’t even think twice about not having a reliable internet connection throughout our day.  Unfortunately, this is not the case for many that live in rural locations where up words of 50% of the residents may not have access to a reliable connection.  Dr. Hambly is the Project Leader for the R2B2 project and joins us to discuss the importance of being connected in today’s modern world and the social and economic impact this has on rural communities.  ...

On this week’s episode of The Back 40 we are joined by Mark Beaven, President & Founder of EthoGuard.  Mark has been working in agriculture for over 30 years including various roles with Egg Farmers of Ontario and The Canadian Animal Health Coalition.  He joins us to discuss how farms are becoming increasingly susceptible to cyber attacks and what can be done to protect them.  As Mark states many still do not see this is a real risk and with farms being “overexposed and underprotected” they are prime targets for hackers and digital attacks. ...

This week on The Back 40, Mike Brine is joined by Krista Cressman, General Manager of Jersey Canada, to discuss what makes the Jersey cow breed in Canada so unique.  Krista was born and raised in small town Ontario within the Waterloo County, which is a highly active agricultural area.  Jersey Canada, founded in 1905, is an organization that represents the Jersey breed of cattle in Canada.  The organization is responsible for setting the standards for what constitutes a Jersey animal and maintaining the herd book, which is essentially a family tree for cattle.  Krista joins us to discuss what makes this breed of animal so special in terms of their physical characteristics, temperament and dairy production. ...